Kimchi
Side dishes
Salted and fermented napa cabbage seasoned with chilli, garlic and — in most kitchens — salted seafood. It comes with almost every meal.
Why this list cannot be complete
Many Korean restaurants are franchises whose recipes are not published, and shops create their own versions of the same dish. A menu name often does not tell you what is inside. This page covers the traditional recipe and the variations that have spread widely, not every shop.
When you are not sure what a shop puts in, show your card to say what you cannot eat, or show the list below and ask the staff to point to what is in theirs.
What usually goes in
이 음식에 아래 재료 중 들어가는 것이 있나요?
For the staff: does this dish contain any of the ingredients below?
Anchovy sauce or salted shrimp is the base of the seasoning in most recipes, including versions that look purely vegetable.
Salted shrimp goes in whole or as a paste; the pieces sink into the seasoning and are hard to pick out once it has fermented.
Wheat has no role in the basic recipe, but some kitchens thicken the seasoning with a flour porridge, so it is worth asking.
Minced garlic is mixed into the red pepper paste that coats every cabbage leaf; it cannot be scraped off once the kimchi has fermented.
Onion is ground or finely chopped into the seasoning together with the garlic and pear; it dissolves into the paste and is not visible as pieces.
Oyster kimchi and wrapped bossam kimchi mix raw oysters into the seasoning.
Wrapped bossam kimchi puts pine nuts in the filling inside the cabbage leaves.
Kaesong-style bossam kimchi and banji kimchi sometimes have sliced long-arm octopus mixed into the filling.
Grating pear into the kimchi seasoning paste is common.
Some recipes also grate apple into the kimchi seasoning paste.
- Usually in it
- Most kitchens put this in. Assume it is there unless the staff tell you otherwise.
- Sometimes in it
- It depends on the recipe and the brand of sauce, so it is worth asking.
- Rarely in it
- The usual recipe does not call for it, but some kitchens still use it.
Checked 10 of the 33 ingredients this site covers. An ingredient that is not listed here has simply not been checked yet — that is not the same as it not being in the dish.
This page describes how the dish is usually made in Korea. Every kitchen works differently, so always show your card and ask the staff before you order.
Going on your card
- Jeotgal and fish sauce (젓갈 · 액젓)
- Shrimp (새우)
- Garlic (마늘)
- Onion (양파)
- Shellfish (조개류 · 굴 · 전복)
- Pine nut (잣)
- Octopus (문어 · 낙지 · 주꾸미)
- Asian pear (배)
- Apple (사과)
Rarely-in-it ingredients start unchecked. Tick them if you want them on the card.
Make a card with 9 ingredientsCommon variations
If you see one of these names on a menu, expect the ingredients below on top of the basic dish. Shops differ, so check with the staff.
- 굴김치Oyster kimchi
Adds: Shellfish (조개류 · 굴 · 전복)
Raw oysters are mixed into the cabbage kimchi seasoning, often served fresh as a winter geotjeori.
- 보쌈김치Bossam kimchi (wrapped kimchi)
Adds: Pine nut (잣), Shellfish (조개류 · 굴 · 전복)
A Gaeseong-style kimchi wrapped in cabbage leaves, filled with pine nuts and chestnuts along with oysters and small octopus. The name is also used for the fresh kimchi served with bossam.
Diets
- VeganNot suitable
The seasoning is normally built on salted shrimp or anchovy sauce.
- Lacto-ovo vegetarianNot suitable
Salted seafood goes into the seasoning of the standard recipe.
Other dishes with the same ingredients
- Sundubu-jjigae (soft tofu stew)Garlic · Onion — Usually in it / Shellfish (incl. oyster, abalone, mussel) · Shrimp · Salted fermented seafood (Jeotgal) & Fish sauce · Octopus (incl. long-arm and webfoot octopus) — Sometimes in it
- Budae-jjigae (army base stew)Garlic · Onion — Usually in it / Salted fermented seafood (Jeotgal) & Fish sauce · Shrimp · Shellfish (incl. oyster, abalone, mussel) — Sometimes in it
- TteokbokkiGarlic · Onion — Usually in it / Shellfish (incl. oyster, abalone, mussel) · Octopus (incl. long-arm and webfoot octopus) — Sometimes in it
Read more
- Shrimp in Korean foodWhere this ingredient hides across Korean food
- Jeotgal and fish sauce in Korean foodWhere this ingredient hides across Korean food
- Vegan dining in KoreaWhere meat and seafood hide in Korean cooking
- Emergency allergy help in KoreaWhat to do and say if a reaction starts
- Temple food and Buddhist vegetarian dining in KoreaWhere garlic, green onion, and other pungent vegetables hide
Sources we checked
Each finding on this page lists the recipes and references it is based on. Source titles appear in their original language and are not translated, and each link opens the other site in a new tab.
Show the 14 sources behind each finding
What usually goes in
Jeotgal and fish sauce · Usually in it
Shrimp · Usually in it
Wheat · Rarely in it
Garlic · Usually in it
Onion · Usually in it
Shellfish · Sometimes in it
Pine nut · Sometimes in it
Octopus · Sometimes in it
Asian pear · Sometimes in it
Apple · Sometimes in it
Common variations
굴김치 · Oyster kimchi
보쌈김치 · Bossam kimchi (wrapped kimchi)
Diets
Vegan · Not suitable
Lacto-ovo vegetarian · Not suitable
Each dish is researched by hand from the sources we checked, and nothing here is generated automatically. Recipes vary from kitchen to kitchen, so always confirm with the staff before you order.